Page 27 of Before They Were Lovers

Day turned toward him and watched him with a slight smirk tilting his peach lips.

It was one of those quiet things he did that drove God crazy. Day was always so damn relaxed and unshakable. Like he could take the world or fucking leave it. Like he didn’t give two shits.

But something was off, and God wasn’t easy to fool.

He shot his partner a look as he pulled away from the curb.

“You’re nervous.” It wasn’t a question. He could feel Day hiding his anxious energy under that easy smile.

“Me?”

That damn grin grew wider, the one Day used that made people believe he was in full control.

“Never. I’m good…cool…chillin’,” he fumbled.

“Mm-hmm.” God’s voice was grating and raw since he hadn’t spoken a word in thirteen hours—the last time he’d been in his partner’s presence.

“Why? Areyounervous?” Day chewed on his thumb.

Another classic tell.

“Nope.” God quirked one brow, swinging into the Starbucks drive-thru. “You going all in this morning? Looks like you need something strong?”

Day sighed. “Sure. Why not.”

“Good morning, welcome to Starbucks. What can I get started for you?” the happy voice said through the intercom.

“Stacy, let me get a vanilla latte with three shots of espresso, fifteen pumps of vanilla, extra milk, no foam, a hundred and sixty degrees.”

“Oh, sure! You want a plain bagel as well, Officer Godfrey?” The barista perked up even more.

This girl always had way too much cheerfulness for 5:00 a.m.

“Yep,” he said and pulled forward, already knowing the total.

He stared at his partner in silence until he got to the window.

Stacy did her usual flirty grin and blinked her long lashes like every morning, but God didn’t lead her on. He preferred his hookups to be more seasoned, ones whose hearts weren’t broken when he didn’t call the next day.

He tipped her, gave his partner his coffee, hoping it’d give him the boost he needed, and drove them the rest of the way to the station.

The meeting room was filled with the scent of sweat and anxious energy. Day and God stood with the SWAT team and the rest of the officers in full tactical gear.

Police Chief Robinson had asked the surrounding precinct commanders to provide their best officers to support the task force in a major drug bust, and their captain had chosen them.

And he and Day hadn’t hesitated to accept.

Sergent Grey, aka Joker, stood with the rest of his team, scanning the men and women with a fire in his eyes that never dimmed, no matter how high the stakes of the mission he led.

“All right, listen up!”

Grey’s voice was rough from his years of shouting orders.

The room fell silent.

“You’ve trained for this. You’ve bled and shed sweat and tears for this. Today isn’t just another bust. It’sthebust. The largest shipment expected to arrive in this city in years. And today, we show these kingpins what happens when you fuck with the wrong city!”

There were a few whoops and curses of “Fuck yeah” before the noise died down.

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